Holiday to holiday
Good morning to all. I hope that Thanksgiving was joyous, safe and relaxing for everyone.
I suppose that I'm just sort of non-compliant. I did not go out and shop on Black Friday (though I did stop by the grocery, but that really doesn't count), I did not visit a small business on Shop Small Saturday, and I did not order any merchandise online during Cyber Monday yesterday.
Shame on me. I'm usually dependable with respect to propping up our economy. I wasn't a complete laggard, though, as my wife and I put up our holiday decorations Sunday and we began organizing our Christmas shopping, and actually did a little of it already. But ONLY a little.
Did you know that President Franklin Roosevelt moved the observance of Thanksgiving during his time in the White House? If I have the story right, retailers pressured him to decree that Thanksgiving be celebrated early, as the year this was contemplated, Thanksgiving came late in the month of November. So in 1939-41, Thanksgiving arrived a little early, so that the Christmas shopping season could last just a little longer. Of course, that was in the days when the Christmas shopping season didn't START until Thanksgiving!
Now, on with my usual assortment of random thoughts...
Kentucky won its annual football game with in-state rival and formerly 11th ranked Louisville on Saturday, despite being 27 point underdogs. Hard to describe quickly how they did it, but most of it was with heart and determination, as the skill and talent level of many of Louisville's players surpasses that of many of UK's team. But it was quite a sight to see, and for the first time in six seasons, the Governor's Cup came back to Lexington!
UK's basketball team continues destroying their opponents without much effort. This team is extremely talented but they'll face better competition over the next few games, if the experts are right. They need to be pushed and tested, so that when they visit the smaller arenas of some of the SEC schools and are confronted with fans who are out of control and teams who are playing their biggest game of the year "because it's against Kentucky," they'll be ready.
The Cincinnati Reds are having their annual off-season fan event, Redsfest, this Friday and Saturday. My son and I have attended once or twice in the past, but probably won't go this year. The Reds, meanwhile, continue to tweak their rebuilding efforts, exchanging some of their known-quantity minor leaguers for what may be better prospects from elsewhere. I still think that in a couple of years the Reds will contend for post-season play once again. Hope I'm right.
I don't follow hockey that closely, but read that the Florida Panthers of the NHL fired their coach, and did so in such humiliating fashion that it got noticed. They actually fired this man, kicked him off the team bus that was leaving an opposing team's arena, removed his luggage from the bus and left him standing by the side of the building. Gotta admit, I've been dismissed from employment more than once in my career, but never experienced that.
Speaking of humiliation, it occurs to me that our President-Elect is running a bit of a reality show as he meets with various prospective cabinet members. Will he choose Candidate A to be Secretary of State? Or will he surprise everyone with Candidate B? And don't look now, Candidate C has just entered the picture. Tune in tomorrow to find out who gets hired!
The public squabbling among the President-Elect's inner circle is fascinating, amusing and terrifying all at once. It's not hard to imagine the same thing happening once he takes office and something significant occurs, and there's massive conflict about how to respond.
Seriously, though, we can only hope that at least some of these people are up to the jobs that they're agreeing to take. Our country depends on it. And I really don't have an opinion on the whole recount issue, nor do I have a worthwhile comment about whether or not some three million votes were cast by illegal immigrants.
I read somewhere that during President Obama's transition into office, he posted but one tweet, and that was to thank his supporters. Wow, those were the days, right?
Have a good week.
I suppose that I'm just sort of non-compliant. I did not go out and shop on Black Friday (though I did stop by the grocery, but that really doesn't count), I did not visit a small business on Shop Small Saturday, and I did not order any merchandise online during Cyber Monday yesterday.
Shame on me. I'm usually dependable with respect to propping up our economy. I wasn't a complete laggard, though, as my wife and I put up our holiday decorations Sunday and we began organizing our Christmas shopping, and actually did a little of it already. But ONLY a little.
Did you know that President Franklin Roosevelt moved the observance of Thanksgiving during his time in the White House? If I have the story right, retailers pressured him to decree that Thanksgiving be celebrated early, as the year this was contemplated, Thanksgiving came late in the month of November. So in 1939-41, Thanksgiving arrived a little early, so that the Christmas shopping season could last just a little longer. Of course, that was in the days when the Christmas shopping season didn't START until Thanksgiving!
Now, on with my usual assortment of random thoughts...
Kentucky won its annual football game with in-state rival and formerly 11th ranked Louisville on Saturday, despite being 27 point underdogs. Hard to describe quickly how they did it, but most of it was with heart and determination, as the skill and talent level of many of Louisville's players surpasses that of many of UK's team. But it was quite a sight to see, and for the first time in six seasons, the Governor's Cup came back to Lexington!
UK's basketball team continues destroying their opponents without much effort. This team is extremely talented but they'll face better competition over the next few games, if the experts are right. They need to be pushed and tested, so that when they visit the smaller arenas of some of the SEC schools and are confronted with fans who are out of control and teams who are playing their biggest game of the year "because it's against Kentucky," they'll be ready.
The Cincinnati Reds are having their annual off-season fan event, Redsfest, this Friday and Saturday. My son and I have attended once or twice in the past, but probably won't go this year. The Reds, meanwhile, continue to tweak their rebuilding efforts, exchanging some of their known-quantity minor leaguers for what may be better prospects from elsewhere. I still think that in a couple of years the Reds will contend for post-season play once again. Hope I'm right.
I don't follow hockey that closely, but read that the Florida Panthers of the NHL fired their coach, and did so in such humiliating fashion that it got noticed. They actually fired this man, kicked him off the team bus that was leaving an opposing team's arena, removed his luggage from the bus and left him standing by the side of the building. Gotta admit, I've been dismissed from employment more than once in my career, but never experienced that.
Speaking of humiliation, it occurs to me that our President-Elect is running a bit of a reality show as he meets with various prospective cabinet members. Will he choose Candidate A to be Secretary of State? Or will he surprise everyone with Candidate B? And don't look now, Candidate C has just entered the picture. Tune in tomorrow to find out who gets hired!
The public squabbling among the President-Elect's inner circle is fascinating, amusing and terrifying all at once. It's not hard to imagine the same thing happening once he takes office and something significant occurs, and there's massive conflict about how to respond.
Seriously, though, we can only hope that at least some of these people are up to the jobs that they're agreeing to take. Our country depends on it. And I really don't have an opinion on the whole recount issue, nor do I have a worthwhile comment about whether or not some three million votes were cast by illegal immigrants.
I read somewhere that during President Obama's transition into office, he posted but one tweet, and that was to thank his supporters. Wow, those were the days, right?
Have a good week.
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